Iron Wall
By Moshe Katz
CEO
Israeli Krav International

April 24, 2018, Israel

Let us go back to 1923, pre-state Israel. Yes, we have always called this land Israel. These days imbecilic "celebs" such as Natalie Portman are criticizing Israel for "overreacting" against the Arabs. (Explain to me please how one "overreacts" to terrorism and murder). A Jew in England protests that Israel's "overreaction" is damaging the image of Jews in London. (Heaven help us!) Liberal Leftists Jews in London are even publicly reciting the Jewish prayer for the dead on behalf of killed Arab terrorists in Gaza! Please, someone put them back in the insane asylum quickly! So lets' go back to 1923, before any alleged "occupation" of Arab lands, before any Israeli "aggression", before in fact a state of Israel even existed. What was happening then?

What was happening then is ...the same as now, only now we are in a better position to defend ourselves. 

April 1920, Jerusalem. The Jews anticipate an Arab attack, they appoint Ze'ev (Vladimir) Jabotinsky with the task of organizing Jewish self-defense. They manage to repel the Arab attack, but 6 Jews are killed and over 200 injured. What provoked the Arabs then?

March 1920, two Americans, Jakov Tucker and Ze'ev Scharff, both WW1 veterans, are killed resisting an Arab attack on the Jewish settlement of Tel Hai. Had it not been for the preliminary organization of Jewish defense, the number of victims would have undoubtedly been much greater.

Jabotinsky was then arrested by the ruling British and sentenced to 15 years hard labor. 

1921 the Arab leader Haj Amin El Husseini, who later aligned himself with a man named Adolf Hitler, began organizing terror attacks against Jews. These terrorists were called Fedayeen, or self-sacrifice. A Jewish official who worked for the British, High Commissioner Herbert Samuel, appointed Husseini to be Mufti, the religious leader of the Muslims as Husseini promised that he would bring Peace and Tranquility to the land. Three weeks later the Mufti kept his word as he instigated Arab riots in Jaffa and Petah Tikwa, killing 43 Jews. (Are we beginning to see some parallels with our own times?) 

The riots continued throughout 1924 with hundreds more Jews being killed. The British established a committee to inquire "into the causes" of the riots. (talk about a no -brainer). The report concluded that the Arabs feared "Jewish economic domination". And so on and so forth...

The Jewish community was divided, as it is today, on how to respond to the Arab threat. 

The Jewish community’s socialist leaders hoped they could appease Arab enmity by offering economic cooperation, progress and prosperity. (Sounds familiar?) But the Right, headed by Vladimir Jabotinsky, held a different view. Jabotinsky would later go all over Europe warning the Jews of the impending doom (Holocaust). He was dismissed as a madman. 

Jabotinsky dismissed the Socialists arguments as childish and insulting to the Arabs. You cannot bribe your enemy. He said the only thing that would satisfy the Arabs is for the Jews to leave and give up the idea of a Jewish state. The same is true today.

What he advocated was creating an Iron Wall. And so he wrote in November 4, 1923: If the Jews wish to remain they must come to terms with this harsh reality. No more illusions. "To imagine, as our Arabophiles do, that they will voluntarily consent to the realization of Zionism, in return for the moral and material conveniences which the Jewish colonist brings with him, is a childish notion, which has at bottom a kind of contempt for the Arab people; it means that they despise the Arab race, which they regard as a corrupt mob that can be bought and sold, and are willing to give up their fatherland for a good railway system."

Jabotinsky's Iron Wall meant a firm and solid self-defense. Beyond this point you shall not pass, drawing a line in the sand. This must be our attitude towards all predators who seek to harm us. Whether it is Arab terrorists seeking to cross the border into Israel or a mugger on the streets of New York. We must create our own Iron Wall; military defense, home security systems, and Krav Maga self-defense training.

Essentially the difference between the Socialists and the Right is as follows: the Socialists believe that violence can be averted by changing the enemy, by explaining to him that friendship with us will bring him many economic and social benefits. The Right believes that is a childish notion, better convince the aggressor that attacking you will be very bad for this health. You must prepare yourself with the best self defense ability, create an Iron Wall to protect yourself and your family.  Do not expect to convince him that you are really a nice person who can help him. 

The years have passed, nothing has changed. Iron Wall. 

Ze'ev Jabotinsky is the spiritual father of Krav Maga. 

Born Valdimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky, 17 October 1880, Odessa, Russian Empire. On Tour and Train we honor him by visiting his grave at Mount Herzl, Jerusalem. 

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